those numbers are raising the stakes for the romney campaign ahead of wednesday's debate in denver. and right now expectations seem to be with the president. 55% of likely voters expect him to win the debate, according to polling from a the washington post and abc news. >> a poll that means absolutely nothing. >> it's good for romney. >> because he's got lower expectations. >> underdog. >> i guess so. >> and people could be surprised simply by seeing them side by side. i mean, the symbolism, the symbiotics i don't think can be overstated. seeing them side by side, if romney does well, i think he'll get a bump no matter what the sort of intricacies are. just side by side with the president in terms of stature and in terms of people thinking he can win, on equal footing. >> willie, he does well during the debates. we saw this during the republican primary. he faced a challenge from newt gingrich, he won. he faced a challenge from rick perry. people would say hey, this is a do-or-die debate. mitt romney must prove he can deliver the knockout blow, and he did do it in the debates time a